And the Winner Is...

I just wanted to make some final comments on the kid's win in the 48 Hour Film Slam because it was such a cool moment and a big surprise. Not so much because their film wasn't worthy, because it was, but more so due to the way things transpired. As I mentioned, they didn't even really want to enter this contest, and only did so because a friend wanted to. When that friend dropped out, A&N took the helm and made it their own and with the help of ES did a fine job.

Once the contest started, they were competing against kids their own age, though for full disclosure, several of the so-called "middle-school" teams had older people acting in the films and presumably taking part in the creative process. I fully acknowledge that some parental input is en par for the course, but clearly some of these projects had the stamp of significant adult oversight. In fact, one group had a superstar actor involved and the film clearly reeked of his influence. I guess I understand that this is going to happen, and it was clearly the case when A did her movie about the F-35. Then again, kids are pretty savvy these days and can do amazing things with technology.

Whatever be the case, A&N were pretty much on their own. Mom and I offered suggestions and gave some input, but the ideas were basically theirs and their alone. Once the filming got going, we literally did nothing other than supportive stuff like cooking and driving. In the end, you can't control what other people do (though you can gripe and bitch about it all you want), you just have to stand by what you believe in and do your best. I'm proud of the kids because it really was their creation.

At the awards ceremony I think the anticipation was high but muted because it was their first foray into this event and again, it sort of fell into their laps. This made it more fun and less stressful, but toned down expectations, as well. Once the awards were given out for their age group and A,N&E didn't win, we figured that was it. At the very least one of the winners of the respective age category would win the overall prize, and there were three categories, with our kids being in the youngest. Keep in mind, they were competing against adults.

Interestingly enough, when they announced the awards, the runner-up hadn't won in their age group, either. When they called the kid's production group for the overall winner, it was quite a shock, albeit a pleasant one. The kids were thrilled, as were all the parents. It was a pretty cool moment, and I'm glad they got some recognition for their hard work and clever ideas. To add to the fun, there were a ton of people we knew in the competition and the audience, so for several days afterward people were congratulating the kids on a job well done. One of the actors is a teacher in our school and she announced the winners in her class and several of A's friends. She also wants to screen the film at the school assembly, but we'll see how that goes.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to svenwerk for the pic.